KIngston >> Helen “Ma” Boice gets a bit choked up when she looks back to the old days.

“You don’t want to go there,” she said when asked how she felt about Boice Brothers Dairy’s 100th anniversary.

“I’m proud,” Mrs. Boice declared, fighting back tears. “Very proud.”

The year was 1947. She had just married Richard P. Boice, and, immediately, the newlyweds began sharing the load in the family dairy business founded by Pratt and Harriett Boice in 1914.

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Her in-laws, she said, moved to the town of Ulster during the construction of the Ashokan Reservoir between 1907 and 1915.

Pratt Boice actually started the dairy in the town of Ulster in 1913, but the family marks its founding as 1914, the year he married Harriett Stone.

Mrs. Boice noted how hard the couple worked to build their dairy and the days when Pratt would deliver milk in a horse-drawn sleigh in the winter.

By the time she married into the family, Boice Brothers already was established, and today, the 85-year-old matriarch regards the earlier days with a mix of pride and longing.

“When we were married, we had eight cows and a heifer and an old lug-wheel tractor,” she said. “Of course, when we hayed, it was all forked onto a wagon.”

Next generations

The second generation of Boices had settled on the 108-acre Sagendorf property in Lake Katrine, renaming it Thruview Farm, the place where they raised their six children.

In those days, everything was done by hand, including the milking of the cows.

Each of the black-and-white spotted Holstein friesians owned by the Boices had its own birth certificate and personality, Mrs. Boice said.

“The cows were very interesting,” she said. “You’d stand on the hill and call, ‘Come, Bossy,’ and they’d all come a-runnin’. They’d go into the stanchions ... and each went into their own front door.”

The dairy, of course, kept growing over time, earning a reputation for the fresh, sweet milk it offered patrons through home deliveries and mom-and-pop stores.

“Later on, we had a north row, a middle row and a south row of cows,” Mrs. Boice said. “Dick and I went to the barn every morning ... and we’d measure out their feet and sanitize the machines, and then I’d go down to the house and get six young’ns ready for school, but I loved it.”

Those “young’ns” are now in charge of both the dairy and farm.

Rich is the plant manager; Pratt is in charge of routes; Jimmy and his son, Christopher, run the farm and maintain the equipment at the dairy; Sarah runs The Milk House in Kingston; and Helen oversees the office staff.

The farm off Old Kings Highway remains home for the extended Boice clan that includes Helen and the elder Richard their children and their grandchildren, who also lend a hand in the business that operates in Midtown Kingston.

Locals know Boice

Most Ulster County residents probably have had some connection to Boice Brothers Dairy, which also happens to be the oldest family-run dairy in New York state.

Schoolchildren probably have drunk from its cartons, or families may have visited the cow-themed Milk House at 62 O’Neil St. in Kingston to grab some soft-serve ice cream or an ice cream cake.

What they might not have noticed is the adjacent structure alongside a railroad spur, which serves as the production plant.

The family bought the former Zwick and Swartz produce building in 1976. At one time, the building was occupied by Woven and Ebel Purina Feeds distributors.

And though the Boice family sold its cows in the ’70s, it continues to process milk from 10 dairy farms in Ulster, Dutchess and Columbia counties that are part of the group Hudson Valley Fresh.

Workers at the 15,000-square-foot facility pasteurize and homogenize the milk and then package and distribute it.

“We make a full line of dairy products, and there’s not too many dairies left that do,” Boice said. “Mostly, it’s run by the big boys now. They do all the supermarkets. That’s where all the volume is.”

Boice, 53, said he’s been active in the family business since the time he left grade school.

“That’s back when I was milking the cows,” he said with a bit of incredulity. “I’ve been in the plant the whole time since. I’m the quiet one. I hide inside. I don’t get out too much.”

Sundae on Sunday

Boice, however, is stepping out of the shadows as he plans an event he is calling “Across the Generations,” an afternoon anniversary bash on July 20 at Kingston’s waterfront.

He’s hoping thousands of people will come out from noon to 4 p.m. to help the dairy break the record for the world’s longest sundae.

The record, Boice noted, is 1,250 feet, set in White Bear Mountain, Ill.

Of course, all the ice cream (enough to feed 6,000 people) as well as chocolate syrup and whipped cream will be available for free during the afternoon shindig that will include live entertainment.

“It’ll be like a triple effect,” he said. “We’ll be celebrating our 100th anniversary, raising money for (the Hudson River Sloop) Clearwater and the Hudson River (Stewards Program) and bringing the community together.

“I want to have thousands dipping ice cream all at once,” he added. “Everyone will be wearing a hair net and gloves and form one big line right on the new walkway (along the Rondout Creek). It will be a sight to see. We’ll have lots of giveaways to thank our loyal customers.”

Another 100 years?

Boice, like his mother, is proud to mark the 100-year milestone, and he attributes the family’s success to hard work and dedication to premium products.

“There are days when you want to say, ‘What the heck am I doing?’ You never hear of anyone getting into this business, and there’s a reason,” he said. “The government tells me what I pay for the (raw) milk, and every month, it’s a little different, and that’s the same for the big guys. It does come down to how efficient you are.”

Mrs. Boice, meanwhile, continues to watch the operation thrive under her children’s care.

She and her husband still show up at the dairy daily to lend their support, and they’re hoping for another 100 years as their grandchildren move in to take the reins.

“All these years, I think everybody’s been happy, and we all know there’s not much of that going on in the world anymore,” she said. “It’s a good life.”

About the Author

Paula Ann Mitchell has been a multimedia journalist at the Freeman since March of 2010. She has an extensive background in television, radio, newspapers and magazines. Reach the author at pmitchell@freemanonline.com
or follow Paula Ann on Twitter: @anchoratfreeman.